Anonymity for the DefendantsUnfortunately today the identities of those on trial are not hidden. If someone were to leaf through a newspaper they would find the names of many people trying to prove their innocence. While this may be reassuring for people who want to know who to avoid on street corners, it's not exactly a fair system. You are likely to find all the darkest secrets of all the defendants in the media. Somehow it doesn't seem prudent for people to be crucified because their identities are released before they are found guilty. Coronation Street's Michael Le Vell was recently charged with rape, sexual activity with a child, indecent assault and inducing a sexual act on a child. It took less than five hours for the jury to reach the verdict that Le Vell was not guilty of anything, so he was released. Of course in the ideal world that would be the end, but it's almost guaranteed that people won't and can't forget. You wouldn't have even known the actor's name before, but Michael Le Vell, although proven innocent, will be remembered and haunted by accusations for the rest of his life. This isn't exactly reassuring. How vicious the media can be is not a well-kept secret and the identities of the accused should not be made public to protect them from this. Everyone felt they were being persecuted by the press. It often seems that as soon as a journalist gets the name of a defendant, all moral restrictions are removed. Their private life will end up on the front pages of the newspapers. Things that only their closest friends should know will be discovered and published for the world to see. The more irrelevant, the better. It doesn't matter how many times people are told that... middle of the paper... they are falsely accused of being attacked and assaulted. Retired James Robson gets his head blown up and down by Garry Munro. Munro had been wrongly informed that Robson was a paedophile. Robson was described as "barely alive" when he was found. Identities must be hidden to protect people's safety. Released identities can lead to media prosecutions and inequalities in trials. People can be left feeling exceptionally pressured and scared, as well as having a major impact on the rest of their lives. Releasing identities could also compromise the safety of defendants. A new law must be introduced to ensure anonymity for all those on trial. If those accused of crimes are not allowed to keep their identities hidden, many more innocent people will suffer needlessly.